Cooking Oil - Subsidies & Daylight Robbery

Every month, the government subsidises 23 cooking oil producers to produce 85,000 tonnes of cooking oil per month. Studies show that Malaysians only use 45,000 tonnes of cooking oil per month. Approximately 40,000 tonnes are accounted for and are believed to have been smuggled to other countries. These producers/companise that smuggle out these cooking oil double their profits through the subsidies received from the government, and also for selling the oil at a higher price abroad!

It is the bottled type of cooking oil that have been found to be smuggled abroad because they have better mobility than those in the 1kg packets. 1kg packet-cooking oil are used mainly by those from the lower income bracket. This is why the government is maintaining subsidies only for the 1kg packets while the bottled ones have theirs removed. This way, the subsidy reaches the intended group, while the subsidies removed from bottled cooking oil could be put to better use to assist those in need through some other means.

I am all for the removal of subsidy and the chanelling of subsidies removed to address the needs of the lower and lower-middle income groups. Why should I complain about it? The 5kg bottled oil that will cost me RM15.25 this month can last my 10-member household three weeks. So that comes to about 71 sen per day! You people spend more on cigarettes yet you complain about cooking oil!

Nuraina A Samad

About Me

Singapore-born PJ girl. Journalist with NST for 27 years until March 2006. Became editor-in-chief of a publishing group and media strategist. After three years (2009), is back with NST as managing editor.